


Summer Lessons

by scarromanoff



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Carmilla is a protective older sister, F/F, Laura is Will's swim instructer, Will's afraid of water, what could possibly go wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 18:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14959770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarromanoff/pseuds/scarromanoff
Summary: Laura teaches swim lessons & Will needs to learn to swim, but he's terrified of the water. Carmilla helps out.





	Summer Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I've had this idea swimming (no pun intended) since I first started training at work. And yes, I do in fact teach swim lessons (indoor though; I'm essentially a vampire, I can't deal with the sun), so I used one of our methods (sort of). I hope you guys enjoy, and please leave a comment. Let me know if you like this and/or want me to continue it, because I can keep going with this idea, it just might take me a little bit to update (if the past few weeks... and A Sister's Bond are any indication). BUT, I am out of main school, so I've got the mornings on weekdays to write whatever I want. Thanks for reading, and I really hope you guys enjoy. Oh! And please let me know if you catch any mistakes. I've read this over easily ten times, and while I think I've gotten everything, I can only be so sure without an editor. (As good as I am at editing, it's difficult with your own work)

Laura smiled when she saw the first kid walk towards her, hidden from where he was trailing after his mother right behind her legs. The woman came to a halt by the small table Laura had set up and smiled at her, tugging on the little boy’s hand before turning to ask if this was where she should sign in her young one. Laura nodded, pushing a little clipboard forward for the woman to check off the boy’s name and turned slightly so she could speak to the boy, asking if he was excited. He didn’t respond at first, but as she continued, he stepped out from behind his mother, even speaking a few times. Laura grinned and told the mother that if she wanted to stay, she could take one of the chairs by the side, but otherwise they would be done in about an hour. The woman nodded gratefully, and after sitting her son down in one of the small chairs near Laura, she turned and walked towards the exit, obviously needing some alone time.  


This continued on for a while as kid after kid filed in, some running in with their parents in tow, others being coerced with promises of treats in the future. Within ten minutes, she had six small children sitting to her right, and one empty chair as she waited for the last one to arrive.  
-  


Laura had decided that she was going to do something with her summer when her father had told her that she either needed a job or a summer course to take, and as much as she loved learning, she didn’t want to spend her summer in a classroom. So, with that as her motivation, Laura had started job hunting. What she learned rather quickly though, was that in a town as small as hers, most jobs were already filled. She had spent one afternoon after yet another fruitless job search, lounging by the town pool. It was entirely empty except for her, and that’s when it had hit her. She was going to teach kids how to swim. It would be relatively easy, she thought, and it’ll be fun. Kids and water, what could possibly go wrong? As soon as she had gotten home, she had started on making posters, and was posting them everywhere the next day. Within a week she’d had about a dozen calls, and now here she was, about to start her first lesson.  
-  


Laura glanced at her watch for the fifth time before looking up to see a young boy walking slowly towards her. He was closely followed by a teenager who looked to be about Laura’s age. Laura was, for lack of a better word, awestruck. The girl was gorgeous, with pale skin, dark hair, and although Laura couldn’t tell if she was wearing makeup or not, she could tell that the girl was naturally beautiful, nothing needed to be covered up. She’d have needed to remind herself to close her mouth if the little girl sitting next to her hadn’t reached up to tug on her shirt and tell her that it was rude to stare, and that she was going to catch flies soon if she didn’t close it. Apparently she wasn’t the only one to hear that little comment, because she heard a trace amount of laughter coming from in front of her, and when she looked away from the little girl, she saw the woman hiding behind her hand, the one that wasn’t occupied with the boy in front of her.  


Clearing her throat slightly, Laura smiled at her and introduced herself.  


“Hi, I’m Laura. I’m teaching the lessons. And this must be, uh,” she reached for the board, fumbling with it as she tried to find the boy’s name.  


“Will. Yeah, sorry we’re late. It took everything I could possibly offer to get him out of the car. He’s terrified of the water, but Mother still insists on having him take lessons.” The young woman spoke simply, almost like she didn’t care, but with the protective way she stood behind him, and the way she didn’t let go of his hand if he didn’t want her to, Laura could tell she cared more than she’d like to let on. Laura chuckled ever so slightly and smiled at the woman, then turned to speak to the boy.  


“That’s perfectly fine, I know how scary new things can be, but don’t worry. I’m here to show you just how fun the water can be when you know how to be safe in it. You’ll be excited to go in in no time. I promise.” She grinned indulgently at the little boy before remembering herself and straightening up from her slightly bent over position. Smiling bashfully at the woman, she moved to hand her the clipboard with the sign in sheet, speaking as she did so.  


“I almost forgot to mention. We should only be an hour, so if you want to watch, you can grab one of the chairs by the side of there, but otherwise I’ll take good care of him. Also, um, I don’t mean to sound rude by asking this, but, who are you? To him I mean.” She would have kept rambling on, but the expectant look the dark-haired woman gave her told her she ought to stop.  


“I’m his sister,” she said. “Carmilla.” She extended a hand. It took Laura a few moments to realise she was meant to shake it before she moved, her cheeks burning. The woman only smiled. Her hand was warn, the skin smooth, and Laura held onto it a bit longer than socially acceptable before remembering herself yet again and letting go, her hand dropping to her side. The woman smirked slightly as Laura shook her head slightly at her actions.  


It finally dawned on Laura that she had all of the kids she needed and that she should really start the lesson. That was what she was getting paid for after all, to teach kids, not to stare longingly at the beautiful older sister of one of them. _Besides_ , she thought to herself as she made sure she had everything in order, _she probably doesn’t think the same, probably has some badass boyfriend who wears leather and rides a motorbike, she seems like the type who would like guys like that, guys who are as cool as she seems._  


Eager to clear her head of these thoughts, she focused herself back on the task at hand. Swim lessons. She really needed to stop forgetting that. Turning back to the kids, she put on her best smile and instructed them to go over to the pool and sit on the edge, but absolutely not to get in unless she told them to. The six kids who had been sitting got up and walked over, dutifully sitting on the edge as the messed around splashing each other and just having a good time. Looking back at the gorgeous woman, Laura noticed that the little boy with her hadn’t moved and was still gripping tightly to her hand. She smiled at him and reached her hand out wiggling her finger so that he might come over to the pool with her, but when he shook his head, cowering further behind his sister, Laura’s eyes shifted up to her, unsure of what to do. Carmilla only smiled apologetically before crouching down to whisper something to Will. _Gods, she’s gorgeous_ , Laura thought to herself. _Oh, Carmilla, I wish she would just-. Nope, we are not getting into this_ , Laura had to keep her mind from traveling there. _We are not doing this._  


Carmilla looked up from where she was with William, an exceedingly apologetic expression on her face as she spoke. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t think he’s going to go in unless I go with him.” Laura couldn’t believe her luck, she was going to have to spend an hour being distracted by this masterpiece when she was supposed to be focusing on the kids she was teaching. But at the same time, she’d also get to spend more time with her. Maybe this would be a good thing.  


“Oh, uh, yeah. No problem. That’ll be, uh, that’ll be great.” Laura felt her nerves kicking up and she smiled again. They must have shown a bit more than she thought though, judging by the look she received from Carmilla in return. She turned and walked quickly towards the pool, shaking her head at her actions as she felt her cheeks burning. _Great, it hasn't even been five minutes and I've already made a fool of myself, nice._  


Laura pulled her shirt over her head and slipped out of her shorts. For a second, she thought she heard a sharp intake of breath as she did, but when she glanced behind her to see Carmilla occupied with her brother, she came to the conclusion that she must have imagined it. Sitting down on the edge, Laura slipped into the water and moved to stand in the water in front of the kids, waiting for Carmilla and Will to sit on the edge with the others. Apparently though, even with his sister accompanying him, Will still wasn't too keen on the idea of swimming, because he wouldn't settle unless he was sitting in her lap, gripping onto the arm she had swung around his front protectively like it was the only thing keeping him from drowning right then and there. Laura couldn't help but smile at the sight, trying to stifle a laugh before putting on her brightest smile, preparing her cheeriest tone, and starting to speak.  


“Hey guys! Who's ready to learn how to swim!” she grinned wider when the six little kids sitting in front of her raised their hands. Will only gripped Carmilla's arm tighter. “That's great! Let's get started!” Laura moved to float on her back, angling herself so that she can still see and talk to the the kids.  


“Does anybody know how to float on their back?” One of the girls raised her hand quickly and when asked if she would like to demonstrate, jumped right in. Laura held her hand on the girl's back, making sure she was settled before slowly moving away, and sure enough, the girl floated. Laura smiled at her and moved her back over to the wall before moving to the little boy sitting next to her and showing him how to do it. She put her hand under his back, holding him at the surface of the water and having him lay his head on her shoulder. She held him there for a few seconds before moving slowly from under him, seeing if he could hold it without too much assistance. Smiling at him when he said he was finished, she told him how well he had done and moved him back to the wall before continuing down the line. When she reached Will though, she felt the familiar sense of worry.  


Laura held out her hand to him and asked if he wanted to try but he only shook his head and held onto Carmilla. It was when she looked up at the dark haired girl and saw uncertainty in her eyes that she realised that she was winging it just as much as Laura was herself. She'd be lying if she said it didn't make her a feel a little bit better. She watched as an idea flashed across Carmilla's eyes before she leaned down to whisper something to Will. He nodded at her words, and Laura was suddenly very curious as to what Carmilla had said, moving closer without hesitation when Carmilla motioned for her. She leaned in and spoke quietly into her ear when Laura had pushed herself up slightly to hear.  


“He says he'll try if I do it first, if I show him that it's perfectly safe.” Laura shivered slightly at the way Carmilla's breath brushed just past her ear before nodding and moving back away from her intoxicating scent. _Chocolate and books, cozy, warm, like a library during a thunderstorm_ , she thought to herself. It wasn't even close to what she had been expecting. _Maybe this girl isn't what I expected at all._  


Carmilla shifted Will from lap so that he was sitting on the edge, but he crossed his legs as soon as they came close to touching the water and he hugged himself tightly, obviously uncomfortable without his sister there as his eyes were trained on her the entire time. She slipped into the water and moved over to Laura. Carmilla ducked under the water for a second to get her hair wet and Will looked like he was going to either have a heart attack or jump in as his eyes went wide and he scrambled closer to the edge watching where she had gone under. Laura was worried she'd have to jump over and catch him before Carmilla resurfaced and relief visibly washed over the young boy’s face. Laura smiled at the connection between the two who looked so much alike with their pale skin and dark hair. She noticed that he even had the same intelligent eyes as his sister when she got a closer look at the young boy.  


Laura’s focus returned to the older girl when she moved closer to her.  


“I think it would make him feel more comfortable if he saw me doing the same thing as what he will.” Laura felt her mouth dry out out a little, and she thought she saw something in Carmilla's eyes but she couldn't place it, so she just nodded dumbly and moved to carefully put her hand on Carmilla's back, having her lay back and rest her head on her shoulder. Laura felt her cheeks heat up, along with every part of her that was touching the older girl, which was a good portion of her, and she wanted to stay like this forever, just holding onto Carmilla, but then she remembered the other kids and what she was supposed to be doing, so she moved away from Carmilla just like with the kids. Carmilla stayed like that for a few seconds before standing back up in the shallow water and shuffling back over to her brother. She climbed back out and sat next to him.  


This time, when Laura moved towards him, he looked nervous, but he didn't actively try to move away. Instead he looked up at his sister who gave him an encouraging smile and grabbed onto Laura’s hand, allowing her to pull him into the water. She didn't move out as far with him, making sure that he could see his sister the whole time, and proceeded to move through the back float with him. He was stiff, but he didn't resist too much, and Laura counted it as a win. Apparently Carmilla did too, because when he made it back to the wall she congratulated him on how well he had done. Laura smiled at the sight before moving through the water so that she was back in front of the kids and explained the next exercise.  


It continued like that throughout the hour. Laura would explain the exercise and then she'd go through the line. When she got to Will and Carmilla, Carmilla would join her to demonstrate for Will, and then the younger boy would copy her. He gradually relaxed as the lesson went on, though he never completely lost the stiffness, nor the fear apparently.  


Soon the parents were returning to pick up their kids. As each parent arrived, she had the kids demonstrate the skill they wanted to show their parent; most went with a back float.  


It was just Laura, Will, and Carmilla at the end. Laura asked Will if he wanted to do one of the activities again and he agreed to do one more back float. When he climbed up onto the wall, he looked up at Carmilla expectantly and she laughed.  


“What? Do you want me to show you one of the skills?” He nodded and she smiled at him indulgently. “Alright kid, you got it.” She chuckled again before slipping into the water. Carmilla leaned back on Laura, doing a back float and held it for a few moments before looking over at Will, seeing if it met his standards. He smiled and nodded again. Carmilla relaxed out of the the float, but didn't get out of the water when she felt Laura touch her arm lightly.  


“Hey, Will. Why don't you go grab your towel and dry off. I'll be there in a second, okay?” Will scrambled to his feet and walked to their bag, grabbing his towel, black like the rest of their attire and possessions. When Carmilla was sure he was following her directions, she turned back to Laura, one eyebrow raised, questioning. Laura suddenly started to wonder why she was doing this, but pushed on.  


“Um, I just wanted to say he did really well today, and, uh, and I really appreciate the help. I don't know if I could have done it without you. And, I, uh,” she looked up at Carmilla to see an amused expression on her face. She kept talking. “I was wondering if you'll be bringing him back?”  


Carmilla smiled. “Thanks, he's a great kid, just a little scared, and you were pretty good with him. And yeah, he'll probably be back.” Laura smiled and continued, asking what she really wanted to.  


“Will I be able to see you again then?”  


“I mean. If he's coming back, then I'll be accompanying h-”  


“Before that.” Laura’s eyes widened when she realised that she had interrupted her. Carmilla only looked amused. “I meant, uh, I meant if I would see you, uh, see you before that.”  


Carmilla smiled again. “Well we'll have to see about that.” Laura felt her stomach sink before she heard Carmilla continue. “Why don't you give me your number and we'll arrange something.” She said it in a way that made it sound like like a statement rather than a question and Laura felt her body warm at the thought of meeting up with the dark haired beauty in front of her.  


“Yeah,” she smiled. “That sounds great!” she followed Carmilla and climbed out of the pool, following her over to where her brother was sitting on a chair with his towel wrapped around him. Carmilla ruffled his hair before grabbing her phone and handing it over to Laura so that she could put her number into it. Laura dutifully typed in the digits and handed it back, smiling at Carmilla's grin when she looked down at the screen.  


Will tugged on Carmilla's arm, wanting to change, and Carmilla looked down at him, nodding and telling him to head over to the changing rooms. She looked back up at Laura as she finished gathering her stuff and smiled. Laura returned it.

“I guess I'll see you soon,” Laura said. 

“It's a date,” Carmilla replied before turning to follow after her brother. Laura watched her leave and smiled, thinking to herself. _I guess she really isn't what I expected._


End file.
